Jennifer Siebel Newsom's Miss Representation '

Throughout history, women have been portrayed for their looks rather than their intellect. Women have always been interrupted as the weak ones when compared to men. “Miss Representation” is a documentary that examines different issues that evolve around gender inequality. This documentary discusses how women are falsely misrepresented through politics and media. Jennifer Siebel Newsom directed and produced this film in 2011 to show how the media contributes towards the view of women in society today. Throughout the films concrete use of ethos, logos and pathos, the documentary accurately convinces to present an effective argument. The film shares many statistics, interviews, and experiences to help persuade the audience, whom are women

of all ages, to join the Miss Representation Project.
Jennifer Siebel Newsom delivers the essential examples to capture a sense of believability. She begins by choosing to share her own experience and life story to open the documentary. She shares that as a child being violated by her coach, losing a sibling, and dealing with an eating disorder she had lost her self worth.

When learning she was going to have a daughter of her own, her first instinct emotion was fear. By sharing her specific story, Jennifer Siebel Newsom establishes a bond that she is able to create with the audience. Her childhood memory assists the audience to comprehend why she feels that she has to spread the message about the Miss Representation Project. Her choice to voice her story creates credibility on how “mainstream media contributes to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America” (Miss Representation). Jennifer Siebel Newsom forms her credibility by setting up a Facebook and Twitter page that has links to the Miss Representation Project website. By having access to an authenticated website that shares more information about the project helps to have the audience believe in the project. Awards that the documentary has won also helps to shape Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s credibility and the documents credibility. The film as won two audience awards, one at the Sonoma Film Festival in 2011 and the other at the Palo Alto International Film Festival in 2011 and a Movies Matter Award at the Maui Film Festival in

2011. The film itself creates credibility by interviewing folks who are politicians, entertainer, and activists like Condoleezza Rice, Katie Couric and many more. Interviewing professionals who are experts in the field of media, politics, and women studies benefits the documentary allowing it to be more reliable. The evidence presented in the documentary becomes valid and consistently accurate because the professionals back up the evidence with a personal experience or with factual proof. Gavin Newsom, an American politician and current lieutenant governor of California, backs up evidence with an experience to prove that women still today face a deep gender bias. He states, “One of the first things I did when I became the mayor of San Francisco, I appointed a female police chief and then a female fire chief. When they both show up to the podium in a disaster, a lot of national media will look and say where’s the police chief and I say she’s right here, where’s the fire chief and I say she’s right here. People thought I was making a grand statement when in fact I was just hiring the most qualified two candidates. They never would have questioned if they were men” (Newsom, Miss Representation). This instance demonstrates how women in power to a position still get questioned whether or not they are more qualified than a man. “Miss Representation” is able establishes authenticity because the director can commend on her winning awards, the director gives a personal experience to connect to other women, and the worthy Gavin Newsom provides a political example to prove that women are always being discouraged.
“Miss Representation” provides sufficient evidence that proves the media does in fact dehumanize women with the use of logical reasoning facts. The media exploits the idea of body image and appearance to be the most important aspect of a woman. In a review about the documentary, a woman named Nicole Melancon writes, “But when it comes to women of power like politicians, athletes, business leaders and other admirable women, why on earth does appearance always have to matter? Why does the media have to knock women of power down if they seem “too aggressive” (Hillary Clinton), “had face work down” (Nancy Pelosi), is “too bossy” (Sheryl Sandberg) or is too fat, too thin or wearing the wrong clothes? Why are women commonly viewed as a piece of meat? And how can we raise our young daughters and sons to view a woman as a person, not just an object?” (Melancon). The media concentrates on what is best for the profit and revenue. The reason behind the idea of “sex sells” is based on what men want to see. This is how media plays into young girls and young women’s minds. The whole notion begins to be that woman at all times need to please men by wearing certain clothes or modifying body parts. Girls grow up watching models and reading magazines thinking that everything said and shown is real when the truth is that the model in the magazine does not even look like that in real life. The documentary shows many demeaning videos and one in particular is the video clip on how photographers edit the model’s pictures. A young women's worth of herself becomes tarnished due to what she perceives from the media. Girls feel that they have to strive themselves to reach the impossible. Many young girls and women suffer from depression and eating disorders because they feel as if they do not fit into what society believes to be beautiful or believe to be what men want. The documentary presents startling statistics like, “65 percent of women and girls have an eating disorder and 53 percent of the thirteen year old girls are unhappy with their bodies” (Miss Representation). The media fails to portray women in actual reality and fails to portray women of all sizes, looks, and professions. The media limits to what women can believe. The film provides sufficient evidence that verifies the media portraying women as objects rather than humans by stating the logical reason of “sex sells” and the reasoning to why many women suffer from depression and eating disorders.
The ending of the documentary is crucial because it not only clarifies why young girls struggle to fit into society due to media but it also clarifies why young boys struggle due to media.

With the appeal to emotion, Jennifer Siebel Newsom connects empathy and fear. In a review written by Jenna-Leigh Johnson after watching “Miss Representation” empathy and fear are shown. She writes, I am afraid for us all as a nation, but even more so, I am afraid for my children...my three spirited, joyful, strong young daughters. They are young now, and that youth provides some shelter. But I know that their time is coming. I suspect that it will happen slowly, but inevitably. They will start to change. They'll question themselves. They will sacrifice the most essential parts of themselves in an effort to fit in with a society that is taking a dangerous path” (Johnson). Just like Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Jenna-Leigh Johnson fears for her daughters as well. She knows the time will come but fears how her daughters and how any girl will change due to peer pressure from society. Peer pressure to fit in is a young girls and a young boys worst nightmare. The document presents an interview with Jackson Katz whom is an anti-sexist male activist, educator, and author. He states, “How do we expect our sons to be men of integrity and to be social justice advocates and to treat women with respect and to speak up when they see women being treated with disrespect if they don’t see their fathers

doing it, if they don’t see men in the outside culture doing it, it’s not fair to put the burdens on the shoulders of boys or even young men even though they are part of the solution” (Katz, Miss Representation). For boys and young men, the media socializes on the aspect of power and strength. Just as young women believe that men only want the tall, skinny, and flawless ladies, young men also believe that they only want the tall skinny, and flawless type because that is what they see to be the ideal beautiful woman. The media manipulates the thought of desires. If the media can degrade women then it is assumed that there is no reason for men to act any different towards women. As a society we act upon what we see. The director effectively proves how society’s actions are derived from the media.
Since the documentary has been released, the content and issues of the film are still the underlining thought of media. Four years later, the media still bases their content under the idea of “sex sells”. Through the notion that women only make seventy cents to every dollar a man makes will always profoundly say that men are more accepted in society.